Speakers for an upgraded Naim system

JLS22

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Hi

Newbie to the forums and looking for some views experience

After 14 years I've finally decided to upgrade my Wilson Benesch Arcs. They've been great but with recent ugrades to my amplification they don't have the drive and weight I'd like and as such I'm now looking for a floorstander to replace them.

System is as follows :

Rega Planar 6
Naim NDX 2
Naim NAC 282
Naim NAP 200 (will be moving up to 250 or 300 soon)
HiCap DR

The room is 9m wide by 7m deep and 2.5 m high with speakers firing across the room. Tiled floors but lots of soft furnishings, rugs etc

Budget for floorstanders is about £5k (plus whatever I can get for the Arc)

Theres a lot of choice at this level and I know not everything plays well with Naim so wondering if anyone has any views or experirnces to get me going on the right path?

Thanks
 
Hi

Newbie to the forums and looking for some views experience

After 14 years I've finally decided to upgrade my Wilson Benesch Arcs. They've been great but with recent ugrades to my amplification they don't have the drive and weight I'd like and as such I'm now looking for a floorstander to replace them.

System is as follows :

Rega Planar 6
Naim NDX 2
Naim NAC 282
Naim NAP 200 (will be moving up to 250 or 300 soon)
HiCap DR

The room is 9m wide by 7m deep and 2.5 m high with speakers firing across the room. Tiled floors but lots of soft furnishings, rugs etc

Budget for floorstanders is about £5k (plus whatever I can get for the Arc)

Theres a lot of choice at this level and I know not everything plays well with Naim so wondering if anyone has any views or experirnces to get me going on the right path?

Thanks
Have you considered keeping the Arc's as you know their sound and add a decent sub to the party to bring in that bottom end ?
 
Have you considered keeping the Arc's as you know their sound and add a decent sub to the party to bring in that bottom end ?
It's a fair comment and one I've considered.

However, since I've upgraded the pre and power I'm a little underwhelmed by what I've got out. I've heard the same setup with soem PMC Fact 8 Signatures and the sound blew me away. Now, I don't want to spend Fact 8 money but I 'think' I want some new speakers. I probably need to demo a sub at home before I make the choice to get some comparitor.
 
It's a fair comment and one I've considered.

However, since I've upgraded the pre and power I'm a little underwhelmed by what I've got out. I've heard the same setup with soem PMC Fact 8 Signatures and the sound blew me away. Now, I don't want to spend Fact 8 money but I 'think' I want some new speakers. I probably need to demo a sub at home before I make the choice to get some comparitor.
In terms of demo.. that is a must either way you decide to go....
Decent floorstanders in your price range i would consider are...
Sonus faber Sonetto VIII (sonus are often partnered with naim)
PMC twenty5.26i (might have to part x ... on these!)
RUSSELL K RED 150 (grilles are not included i believe lol)

Standmounts...
Dynaudio Special 40 with decent sub ...
 
Naim is often paired with either PMC (as you have heard) or the higher end Focals (same parent company).

For PMC the Twenty5.26 would be worth an audition, that extra mid driver should make a difference.

In the Focal range the new Kanto No.2 would be the obvious choice but a tad over budget.

If you want a tight and revealing speaker the ATC SCM40 would be an interesting match, especially if you are moving up to the NAP250 or 300 as they do like power.

Finally Spendor are getting good press (D7.2) and Proac are always put up a good fight (D48/D48R).

However if you like vocal recordings primarily then Sonus Faber are always a good bet, the Sonetta 5 or 8.

However, give the particular sound character of Naim kit it would be very wise to wait until the shops reopen and then start to audition a few, if you find a couple you like then sort out a home audition to make sure they are right with your kit, in your room and with your ears.
 
A norther speaker brand that works well with Naim is Neat acoustics, might be worth a look/listen.
 
...and Kudos.

Built, designed and tuned around Naim amps if I remember correctly.

I’d consider this one.


Rather magnificent by all accounts and has the ability to be upgraded to active status with the simple expedient of a snaxo and another Nap200.

First choice for me I’d think. The active route just makes it even more tasty.
 
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My local dealer suggested Audiovector with Naim (which I've not heard) or Neat acoustics, which do work well (to my ears at least).
 
At that budget I would shortlist the Q Acoustics concept 500.
 
My nait XS3 was recommended to me for pairing with my Dali Opticon 6 speakers and they are a great match sonically for me
 
So...shops have opened, my 250DR has arrived (lovely) and I've 'accidentally' aquired another HiCap DR so now have 2 x HiCapDR on the 282..

I've been auditioning lots of speakers and increased my budget to £10k. Given speakers are such a personal choice here are the ones I've listened to and rejected for a vareity of reasons. They are all lovely speakers just not for me (apart from the ProAc - they are right up my street but just too BIG) so more fyi than me comment as to why they are not for me...

AudioVector R3 Arrete
Dynaudio Confidence 20
Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII and Olympica Nova II
ProAc D48R
PMC Fact 8
Focal Kanta 2 & 3
Spendor D7.2
ATC SCM 40
Wilson Benesch Precision 2.0

So my shortlist is down to the following 2 (and my budget up to £10k....)

Kudos Titan 606
PMC Twenty5 26i

Both due for home audition over the next two weeks.

So before I pull the trigger - am I missing anything worth listening to??
 
So...shops have opened, my 250DR has arrived (lovely) and I've 'accidentally' aquired another HiCap DR so now have 2 x HiCapDR on the 282..

I've been auditioning lots of speakers and increased my budget to £10k. Given speakers are such a personal choice here are the ones I've listened to and rejected for a vareity of reasons. They are all lovely speakers just not for me (apart from the ProAc - they are right up my street but just too BIG) so more fyi than me comment as to why they are not for me...

AudioVector R3 Arrete
Dynaudio Confidence 20
Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII and Olympica Nova II
ProAc D48R
PMC Fact 8
Focal Kanta 2 & 3
Spendor D7.2
ATC SCM 40
Wilson Benesch Precision 2.0

So my shortlist is down to the following 2 (and my budget up to £10k....)

Kudos Titan 606
PMC Twenty5 26i

Both due for home audition over the next two weeks.

So before I pull the trigger - am I missing anything worth listening to??
If you have a dealer that stocks them.. Put the Russell K Red 150 on your shortlist.. I know these are "only" around the £4k mark and cost extra with the grills.... but these are serious contenders for quality of sound. I really highly recommend Russells if you value sound purity :)

I did mention them earlier on my posts on this thread and notice you haven't included them on your list of speakers tried and rejected so just giving them another nudge
 
If you have a dealer that stocks them.. Put the Russell K Red 150 on your shortlist.. I know these are "only" around the £4k mark and cost extra with the grills.... but these are serious contenders for quality of sound. I really highly recommend Russells if you value sound purity :)

I did mention them earlier on my posts on this thread and notice you haven't included them on your list of speakers tried and rejected so just giving them another nudge
I've found Audio T stock them in Enfild so I'll pop down and give them a listen
 
The Proac D30R is a lovely speaker and a more room friendly size then the D48R.
 
I've found Audio T stock them in Enfild so I'll pop down and give them a listen
Russells are very underrated speakers for what they are... But I find them to be true and faithful and very neutral. They dont have the pace of a PMC that's for sure! But given the spec and the surprisingly small cabinets they really sing nice.
I would ask the store if they can get their hands on the SE model.. whilst not vital.. the SE is the most polished listen that Russell offer.

He really makes them odd.. Russell Kaufman does.. re the treble. he listens to the treble devices on their own full range without a crossover before he choses a unit for his speakers.
The 150's marry a sealed box and ported design on their sound.. so expect the mid top to be very different to the ported bass.

I think the only struggle the Russell has is with big rooms.. they need a decent heavyweight amp too.. nothing light and airy... your Naim should be perfect on them. If you want a really decent test album for the listen .. Chris Jone's Moonstruck
 
You might consider something in the ‘classic’ look and sound.

A tonne of people swear by these two types.


A different kind of engineering to your recent tests.

And then this rather special pair.


Both, incidentally, are renowned for working with Naim too.

Certainly worth considering.
 
So before I pull the trigger - am I missing anything worth listening to??
B&W 705 signature for a compact speaker or 702 signature for a floorstander?
 

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